Financial Support
Graduate Student Support Overview
The graduate faculty of mathematics believes that an important component of a high quality Ph.D. program is the availability of adequate financial support for students.
We are committed to the goal of providing full financial support (tuition plus salary or stipend) for every Ph.D. student who is making satisfactory progress in the program during the duration of their studies. Our students are generally supported for their first five years in our Ph.D. program. While uncertainties in funding make firm guarantees beyond that impossible, we are careful to adjust our number of admissions so that there is enough support for all students. A policy of the School of Arts and Sciences (new as of 2010-2011) limits students to receiving six years (12 semesters) of support from Rutgers sources, on the principle that students should normally complete their degrees within six years. While the number of students we have requesting support beyond their sixth year is small, but some students may be affected by this policy.
The amount of support varies somewhat depending on the type of support (teaching assistantship(TA), graduate research assistantship (GA), or fellowship) but support almost always provides full tuition, medical coverage, and a living stipend. Since fall 2013, the stipend for nine months, for beginning TAs and GAs, are USD 25,969, and fellowship stipends vary from USD 25,000 to USD 35,000. Almost all students (whether domestic or international) find the amount of support to be sufficient to live on.
More information about TA/GA Criteria and Training
The initial offer of support to entering students is usually for two years, though may be longer in some cases (funding beyond the first year is always contingent on satisfactory progress in the program). Support beyond the inital funding period is awarded on a year-to-year basis, with priority given to students who have completed fewer than five years of our program. In fact, over the past few years we have been able to provide support to all continuing Ph.D. students who requested it and who are in good standing in the program.
Most students are supported by University Teaching Assistantships, Graduate Assistantships and Fellowships. Some students are supported by external fellowships or assistantships. The department encourages students to seek such external support, especially students who are continuing past their fifth year of studies.
We also encourage applicants to apply for outside fellowships. Students with outside fellowships must meet our admission standards, but have some advantage in the admissions process. Important note: Most external funding for entering graduate students is limited to between one and three years. Once their external fellowships run out, students join the pool with other continuing students for additional funding. Because students who obtained external funding have used less departmental funds than other students at the same level of seniority, they tend to be given higher priority for subsequent support.
Financial support is generally not provided to students enrolled in the M.S. program.